VLN8: Early season end

Written on 08 October 2018. Published on 08 October 2018.

The 50th ADAC Barbarossa Prize, the race before the last VLN race in 2018 with a 4-hour distance, started promisingly for the GTronix 360 Team mcchip-dkr. The crew on the Porsche Cayman were driver and mcchip business partner Kohei Fukuda and newcomer Tim Heinemann.

Kohei came from Japan to do a very special race - he had his birthday last Saturday. His was supported by Tim Heinemann, who set a new lap record on a BMW M235i in RCN before. For him it would have become the first start in the VLN, his international license was still fresh from the press.

On Friday afternoon in free practice, both could adjust well to the car. The Cayman ran like clockwork and also the mechanics were allowed to look forward to an early closing time after a routine review.

For Saturday, the weather forecast kept what was predicted and brought dry weather with lots of sun. In qualifying, however, the track was still to be enjoyed with great caution, since it was only partially dried and the cold temperatures did not provide the desired grip. Both riders returned the Cayman unscathed, but with a not so good lap time owed to the track, which meant 7th on the grid.

Kohei drove the start and piloted the car without any contact through the starting-turmoil. Unfortunately, his stint ended abruptly in the third round, as he was overtaken by a stronger car from the first starting group. He was met laterally hard at the rear and could not prevent an impact shortly before Schwalbenschwanz. Fortunately, he himself was unscathed, but the Cayman could not get back into the race because of the severity of the damage.

The car was dismantled by the team on the same evening to initiate a quick repair and to ensure a start at the last VLN run in 2 weeks. However, the damage showed that this would not be accomplished in the short time. Thus, the racing season 2018 for the GTronix team mcchip-dkr has been terminated prematurely without fault.